Okay, the second topic that I searched for info on was trikes, and again, I came up short.  I have a 2005 and really like it, but now I have a bad knee and I'm concerned about re-injury when riding (or more precisely, falling over!)  I came across a guy with a sidecar on a 2008 and although it looks rather cool, I really didn't like the way it handled.  There's also the outrigger "training wheel" systems, but I've also ridden one of those (non-Savage however) and really hated it for low speed handling and in the corners at any speed.  

I've also come across this:

http://www.thetrinitytrike.com/roadster/savage/index.html

Has anyone seen or heard about one of these, or know of any other true trike conversion for the S-40's?

TIA!

Charon wrote on 02/03/10 at 08:37:51:


Thanks for your thoughts!  Your dad of course was right about the Model T, but since the stopping mechanism (the disk) is actually on the axle itself and not coming thru a drive shaft, I understand that makes a difference.  In any case, other straight axle systems (Mystery designs, Frankenstein, etc) use the same type design effectively.  

I might be more concerned about the pothole issue, except I no longer live in New England, where the potholes abound, prosper & seemingly reproduce overnight!

12 Bravo.  Is/was that your MOS?

Here's a good lookin trike...  http://www.hondamotorcycles-usedmotorcycles.com/2004-honda-vtx1800-trike-for-...

Tanker2Biker wrote on 02/04/10 at 06:20:53:

Yes I was a combat engineer.

The ragtop is the approach we took. My wife has had a couple of back surgeries and has had both her knees arthroscoped. She says she likes motorcycles and knows I do. Several years ago we bought a used Pontiac Sunbird convertible, and now she describes it as "our motorcycle." We paid less for it, used, than we'd have paid for any of the trike kits, and on the highway it gets mileage probably better than most trikes and some motorcycles. I still have motorcycles, but none of them including the S40 is really suitable for any sort of long distance two-up riding.

If a convertible interests you, you might want to consider insurance. I have heard that a two-seater costs considerably more to insure than a four-seater. I have never asked the insurance agent, however.

Charon wrote on 02/03/10 at 08:37:51:


Actually the out-the-door price (tires, wheels, paint & tax) is never more than $6k.  And the last one Trinity just did was right at $5k.  The customer was able to take advantage of a Christmas special -- and that included 7% sales tax.  Savage projects have been quoted as low as $4.5k for a roll-your-own assembly delivered to the mid-west.

Hi folks, I know all this because I'm Bob Witte, President of The Trinity Trike.  All of a sudden, we've had a lot of visitors jumping from this forum over to our website in the last week.  So I thought I'd sign in and answer a few questions.

I called the last Savage customer mentioned above to find out how he likes it and to let him know about this forum.  Well he does like it as do the other Savage customers.  But sadly, none of the guys are "internet surfers".  

The first Savage we did was 18 months ago (it is the yellow one on the site).  The owner took it up north and when he came back last fall, he decided to do another that he could have one down here as well!  So he owns two of them!

Believe it or not, we've built a lot 250cc trikes in the lst 3 years for newbies, but recently we've been encouraging folks to consider the Savage over those bikes.  I did 4 Savage quotes in January -- and only one of those folks actually owns a Savage now.  There's a much better return on investment with the S40 vs. the 250cc class bikes.  

It makes a great trike!

Bob Witte

Wow, Bob, thanks for taking the time to share some information.  That tells me that you care about your business and your customers (and potential customers!)  Welcome!